Warrior

Theatrical Release Date: 2011 09 09 (USA)

UPC: 031398147213

Studio: Lionsgate

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Violence, Adult Situations, Profanity]

Summary: Two estranged brothers and Mixed Martial Arts fighters confront the forces that tore their family apart as they prepare to do battle in the ring in this drama from director Gavin O'Connor (Pride and Glory). Tommy Conlon (Tom Hardy) is an ex-Marine from Pittsburgh who's never quite shaken his troubled past. Upon learning that the purse in an upcoming MMA tournament is the largest in the league's history, Tommy recruits his father, Paddy (Nick Nolte), a former coach and recovering alcoholic, to whip him into shape in time for the competition. Meanwhile, as Tommy steadily ascends the ranks by defeating one powerful opponent after another, his brother, Brendan, struggles to provide for his family with his job as a public school teacher. A former MMA fighter with a devastating punch, Brendan begins to wonder if he, too, could have a shot at winning the coveted purse. In time, Brendan and Tommy both emerge as dark horse contenders in the competition, setting the two brothers on a brutal collision course. But Tommy and Brendan's biggest battle won't be fought in the ring -- it will be fought in their hearts and minds. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Category: Action

Awards: Best Supporting Actor – Broadcast Film Critics Association Best Supporting Actor – Screen Actors Guild Best Supporting Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Features: Disc 1:
Full Contact: Blu-ray enhanced viewing mode-an in-depth original and personal look at Warrior with the cast and crew
Redemption: Bringing Warrior to Life Documentary
Philosophy in Combat: Mixed martial arts strategy
Simply believe: A tribute to Charles "Mask" Lewis, Jr.
Cheap shots: Gag reel
Brother Vs. Brother: Anatomy of the Fight
The Diner: Deleted scene with Tom Hardy and Nick Nolte (with optional commentary)
Feature audio commentary with filmmakers and actor Joel Edgerton

Warrior

Format: Blu-ray

Release Date: 12/20/2011

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 2.40:1

Audio: DHMA null, DD2 Dolby Digital Stereo

Runtime: 140 Minutes

Sides: 2

Number of Discs: 2

Language(s) English

Subtitles: English,Spanish

Chapters: Disc #1 -- Warrior
1. Just Passing Through [8:35]
2. Family Time [1:56]
3. I'll Fight Him [6:13]
4. Ask Him Yourself [3:35]
5. Quiet Night [6:11]
6. A Tournament [4:11]
7. Is It True? [8:21]
8. Back in the Cage [6:40]
9. Paddy's Plea [5:38]
10. Keep Moving [6:58]
11. I'm in [5:10]
12. Sparta [2:23]
13. Dark Horse [2:09]
14. Forgiveness [6:15]
15. Real Deal [4:36]
16. You Can Do This [3:28]
17. Teaching a Lesson [8:02]
18. Here to Fight [2:55]
19. Proud of You [7:14]
20. Trouble [4:27]
21. Your Cage [7:41]
22. Brothers [1:53]
23. It's Over [5:31]
24. New Beginnings [6:28]

Jason Buchanan

Writer/director Gavin O'Connor's Warrior begins not with a physical blow, but an emotional one -- indicating from the first line spoken that there will be precious little levity in this tale of two brothers who are destined to clash in the ring. Emotions run hot in Warrior, but the unflinching earnestness of the script and the actors ensure that the feelings ring true. Even the victories that appear to come easy in the film have been earned through years of suffering and endurance, and with each punch thrown we always know exactly what can be lost to failure. But you don't have to be a mixed-martial-arts fan to appreciate the struggles waged in Warrior, because they're battles we all wage on a daily basis, just told on a grander scale. Tommy Conlon (Tom Hardy) is an ex-Marine from Pittsburgh who's never quite shaken his troubled past. Upon learning that the purse in an upcoming tournament is the largest in MMA history, Tommy recruits his father, Paddy (Nick Nolte), a former coach and recovering alcoholic, to whip him into shape in time for the competition. Meanwhile, as Tommy steadily ascends the ranks by defeating one powerful opponent after another, his brother, Brendan (Joel Edgerton), struggles to provide for his family with his job as a public-school teacher. A former MMA fighter with a devastating punch, Brendan begins to wonder if he could have a shot at winning the coveted prize as well. In time, Brendan and Tommy both emerge as dark-horse contenders in the competition, setting the two brothers on a brutal collision course. But Tommy and Brendan's biggest battle won't be fought in the ring -- it will be fought in their hearts and minds. In recent years, Tom Hardy has earned well-deserved critical acclaim for his charismatic performances in Nicolas Winding Refn's Bronson, and Christopher Nolan's Inception. The emerging star maintains this steady momentum with a magnetic performance in Warrior. As Tommy, Hardy is a beast caged in his own flesh, emotionally crippled by his traumatic upbringing and seemingly incapable of focusing on anything beside his determination to pummel every contender who steps in his way -- including (and especially) his own brother. But Warrior is as much Joel Edgerton's movie as it is Hardy's. As the struggling teacher who's literally willing to fight for his family's future, it's Edgerton who manages to make the story resonate by gaining the viewer's sympathy. While some will indeed relate to Tommy's struggle to care for a sick parent without the benefit of health insurance and his feelings of being abandoned by the rest of his family, given the current economic climate it's likely that many more will find it easier to relate to a character who's working multiple jobs just to pay the mortgage, yet is still drowning in debt and facing foreclosure. And Edgerton doesn't simply sit back while screenwriters O'Connor, Anthony Tambakis, and Cliff Dorfman do all the heavy lifting; in the quietly desperate scenes that find Brendan and his wife Tess (Jennifer Morrison) wrestling with weighty decisions about their family's future, Edgerton conveys just as much emotional authenticity as he does physical intensity during Warrior's white-knuckle climax. In the vast majority of sports dramas, we can rest assured the protagonist will ultimately emerge victorious -- not only because it's a tried-and-true storytelling paradigm, but also because most filmmakers realize that viewers won't respond well to being put through the emotional wringer of seeing the underdog beaten after enduring so much adversity. By splitting our sympathies between two protagonists who each have something honorable to fight for and then pitting them against one another, director/co-writer Gavin O'Connor and fellow screenwriters Tambakis and Dorfman get us to invest in both characters, creating a unique and poignant story dynamic that keeps us invested even when Tommy's words and actions are less than endearing. It's around the point where Tommy and Brendan have their first face-to-face encounter that we realize just how effective the trio's carefully structured screenplay has been at laying a solid framework, too. Details are skillfully meted out as the story winds to a climax, ensuring that the key revelation about Tommy and Brendan's relationship still carries dramatic weight even though viewers have known they were brothers all along. Meanwhile, the fact that both siblings have their own dedicated cheering sections drives home the point that every fighter is waging a battle both inside and outside of the ring, and allows us to cheer along as some key supporting characters root for their man to deliver the knockout blow. With grainy, naturalistic cinematography more fitting of a 1970s-era William Friedkin film than a post-millennial MMA drama, director of photography Masanobu Takayanagi gives Warrior a unique retro look that's only discernible as contemporary by his occasionally erratic, handheld style. Though Takayanagi and O'Connor work to give Warrior's quiet moments a sense of genuine dramatic weight and depth, the cinematographer's erratic style during the crucial fight scenes occasionally makes it difficult for the audience to get a true sense of the shifting power dynamics in the ring and just who's got the upper hand. It's not enough to pull us out of the struggle being waged onscreen -- just enough to remind us of the artifice. The fighter has always stood as the ultimate cinematic symbol of human strength and endurance. It's a formula that's worked for nearly a century, and frankly, one that has grown a bit clich?d over the decades. By switching the focus from boxing to MMA, and working themes of sibling rivalry, family strife, and forgiveness into the mix, however, Gavin O'Connor and company are able to make it feel fresh and vital again. Warrior is that rare breed of film capable of eliciting enthusiastic applause from an audience, despite the fact that no one is there to receive it. Should you find yourself inexplicably clapping after the final punch has been thrown and the victor has emerged, don't be ashamed -- the emotion is infectious. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Mark Isham  Composer (Music Score) 
Michael Paseornek  Executive Producer 
Greg O'Connor  Producer 
Gavin O'Connor  Director 
Gavin O'Connor  Producer 
Gavin O'Connor  Screenwriter 
Lisa Ellzey  Executive Producer 
Jordan Schur  Executive Producer 
Cliff Dorfman  Screenwriter 
Anthony Tambakis  Screenwriter 
David Mimran  Executive Producer 
John J. Kelly  Executive Producer 
Joel Edgerton  Actor 
Tom Hardy  Actor 
Jennifer Morrison  Actor 
Frank Grillo  Actor 
Nick Nolte  Actor 
Denzel Whitaker  Actor 
Bryan Callen  Actor 
Kevin Dunn  Actor 
Laura Kenley  Actor 
Capri Thomas  Actor 
Maximiliano Hernandez  Actor 
Sam Sheridan  Actor 
Fernando Chien  Actor 
Jake McLaughlin  Actor 
Vanessa Martinez  Actor 
Tim "Skyskrape" Katz  Actor 
Julia Stockstad  Actor 
Carlos Miranda  Actor 
Joshua Rosenthal  Actor 
Kurt Angle  Actor 
Nick Lehane  Actor 
Erik Apple  Actor 
Dan "Punkass" Caldwell  Actor 
Nate Marquardt  Actor 
Lexi Cowan  Actor 
Noah Emmerich  Actor 
Roan Carneiro  Actor 
Daniel Stevens  Actor 
Panuvat Anthony Nanakornpanom  Actor 
Hans Marrero  Actor 
Yves Edwards  Actor 
Amir Perets  Actor 
Anthony Johnson  Actor 
Jimmy Cvetic  Actor 
Jace Jeanes  Actor 
Jake Digman  Actor 
Richard Fike  Actor 
Andre Mason  Actor 
James Houk  Actor 
Aaron Kleiber  Actor 
Raymond Rowe  Actor 
Anthony Tambakis  Actor 
Lambert R. Strayer  Actor 
Roman Vasylyshyn  Actor 
Jonathan Matthew Anik  Actor 
Rashad Evans  Actor 
Stephan Bonnar  Actor 
Michelle Dawn Mooney  Actor 
Tim Bickel  Actor 
Jack Fischer  Actor 
Jeff Hochendoner  Actor 
Armon York  Actor 
Adam Christian Stanley  Actor 
James Dreussi  Actor 
Kevin P. Hanley  Actor 
Tammy Townsend  Actor 
Etta Cox  Actor 
Sandy Notaro  Actor 
Francesca Ortenzio  Actor 
Jaime Sinue Aguirre  Actor 
Tracy Campbell  Actor 
Thomas McCue  Actor 

Country: USA